Ben King (poet)
Benjamin Franklin King, Jr. (March 17, 1857 - April 7, 1894) was an American poet and humorist whose work (published under the name Ben King or the pseudonym Bow Hackley) achieved notability in his lifetime and afterwards.Biography by Opie Read in Ben King's Verses, 1894 Life King was born at St. Joseph, Michigan, on March 17, 1857. He was married November 27, 1883, to Aseneth Belle Latham, of St. Joseph, Michigan; the couple had 2 children, Bennett Latham King and Spencer P. King (aged 9 and 5, respectively, at the time of his death). King billed himself as "Ben King, the Sweet Singer of St. Joe". He first came to prominence for a concert given during the World's Columbian Exposition. Introduced to the Press Club of Chicago, he was quickly picked up by Opie Read, who invited King to tour with him, reading his poetry with piano accompaniment.Michigan in Literature By Clarence A. Andrews, Wayne State University Press, 1992, p.257 According to a short biography by Opie Read, as a child KIng was reputed a piano prodigy; in adult life he was by many deemed a failure for his lack of business instinct. But as a poet, a gentle satirist and a humorist of the highest order, he achieved notability in his short life for a series of newspaper published poems. He died while on a speaking tour at Bowling Green, Kentucky, April 7, 1894. He is buried in the St. Joseph City Cemetery. Recognition King appears to have been a favorite of the Press Club of Chicago, and that organisation published a posthumous collection of his works, Ben King's Verse, in 1894, comparing him with Thomas Hood, a then-famous English humorist and poet. In the next quarter century, the book reputedly outsold any other single volume of verses in Michigan. A monument erected in Lake Bluff Park, Berrien County, Michigan in 1924 features a bronze bust of King created by Chicago sculptor Leonard Crunelle. On the granite monument base are lines from his poem "The River St. Joe":Benjamin Franklin King at FindaGrave Where the bumblebee sips and the clover's in bloom, and the zephyr's come laden with peachblow perfume. Where the thistle-down pauses in search of the rose and the myrtle and woodbine and wild ivy grows; Oh, give me the spot that I once used to know by the side of the placid old River St. Joe! Publications * Ben King's Verse (edited by Nixon Waterman, introduction by John McGovern, biography by Opie Read). Chicago: Press Club of Chicago, 1894. Chicago: Forbes, 1898. *''Jane Jones, and some others'' (illustrated by John A. Williams). Chicago: Forbes, 1909. *''Ben King's Southern Melodies. Chicago: Forbes, 1911. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Ben King 1857-1894, WorldCat, OCLC, Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 12, 2013. See also * List of U.S. poets References * Lane, Kit. Michigan's Victorian Poets. Douglas, MI: Pavilion Press, 1993. Notes External links ;Poems *"Toboggan" *Selected Poetry of Benjamin Franklin King (1857-1894) (4 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. *Index entry for Ben King at Poets' Corner * Benjamin Franklin King at PoemHunter (5 poems) ;Books *Ben King at Internet Archive * ;About *Ben King at Find a Grave Category:1857 births Category:1894 deaths Category:People from Berrien County, Michigan Category:Writers from Michigan Category:American humorists Category:American poets Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets